Baked Apple French Toast
During the colder months, it’s always nice to have a homemade, warm breakfast recipe to turn to. Whether you make this a regular weekend breakfast for the family, or spoil your friends and house guests with this delicious and sweet dish, the recipe is sure to be a favorite.
North Carolina ranks 9th in the nation for apple production with 100 million pounds of the delicious fruit a year. Nothing is better than eating local and supporting local farmers so be sure to buy local apples and other North Carolina produce at your neighborhood farmers market.
INGREDIENTS
4 cups day-old whole grain bread, cubed
5 Eggs
1 1⁄2 cups Milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
1⁄8 teaspoon ginger
1⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg
1⁄4 teaspoon cloves
5 Tablespoons coconut palm sugar
3 apples, cored, peeled and sliced into wedges
2 Tablespoons butter
1⁄4 cup brown sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 x 9 baking pan.
Add bread cubes to the baking pan.
In a medium bowl whisk; eggs, milk, vanilla, ½ tsp. cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and coconut palm sugar. Pour over the bread, pushing the bread down to soak up the liquid.
In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add the apples and butter. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. cinnamon, stir and cover to steam for about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Continue cooking with cover off until tender and slightly caramelized (you don’t want them to get mushy). Remove from heat to cool slightly. Spoon caramelized apples over the bread.
Bake on center rack for 20-30 minutes. Knife inserted in the middle should be dry. Remove from oven. Drizzle with maple syrup.
This recipe is courtesy of Raleigh local Jackie Boegel after she placed first in the 2017 State Fair NC Apple Growers Association Apple Recipe Contest.